Posted on 02/14/2021 10:23:56 PM PST by Pilgrim's Progress
“The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous” (Proverbs 15:29).
“The LORD is far from the wicked,” especially in prayer. “Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).
The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. The reason that He hears is because the righteous have confessed their sins and have yielded to the Lord’s conviction in their lives.
How close is God to every person?
“But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess . . .” (Romans 10:8-9). This is how close God is to every person.
“That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us” (Acts 17:27). God is not far from every one of us. The Lord is right there all the time, waiting for man to turn to Him.
Even wicked men can “turn” toward the Lord, but if his heart isn’t right, that is, his desires are wicked God is far from that man. God doesn’t pay any attention to that man, He doesn’t listen to him.
There are two ways of keeping a pig out of a mud puddle. Man's way is to surround the mud puddle with ten or more coils of barbed wire, fencing it in with the wires spaced closely together so the pig cannot get through them to the mud. God's way is to change the pig into a sheep so the new nature which it receives will create a desire to stay out of the mud and to rejoice in the clover patch instead.
God is not in the business of training, molding, and improving man's normal nature. He is occupied in giving to men a new nature, which is His own life implanted in the heart of the believer. The gift of the new life is assured to the believer in the verses above. The gift of this life is a miracle. In no other way can enemies be brought together.
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